Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a famous sports car marketed by Ford since 1964. It is from the Mustang that the term "pony car" originated to describe smaller performance sedans. Sixties The Mustang was first conceived in 1962, and the concept Mustang more resembled a sports car than a sedan. The Mustang was later introduced based on the Ford Falcon. It was competitive in grand touring (GT) racing, and was later entered in the Trans American Sedan Championship (Trans Am Series). In 1969, the Mustang was given Ford's Boss 302 engine. The Boss name came from the popular slang term for cool at the time, and 302 meant cubic inches (302ci being equal to the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) displacement limit of five liters). The Mustang would later get increasingly large engines, even the 429 ci (eight liter) V8, and later came in Shelby versions. The first Mustangs featured a louvered cover for the A-frame window. They also came in a sporty fastback model. In 1968, Ford introduced the Mercury Cougar as an upscale alternative to the Mustang. Seventies The Mustang continued to be entered in Trans Am and GT racing, later in the IMSA GT Championship, as Trans Am dwindled due to the decline of interest in performance cars beginning in 1970. A Mach 1 edition was also available as the Mustang became longer and wider. A special King Cobra edition was introduced for the new Mustang II, and featured a Pontiac Trans Am like hood design depicting a Cobra. The Mustang II was notably less powerful due to the declining market for performance cars. In contrast to the seven liter Boss 429 from the late sixties, the Mustang II was limited to only a five liter engine. The Cougar was redesigned in 1970 to resemble the Ford Thunderbird. Eighties The Mustang received a new, edgier design based on Ford's new fox platform. However, the Mustang would lose its distinctive pony badge in favor of the generic blue oval. Despite this, the Mustang continued to compete in GT racing. The Mustang would also lose its distinctive tri-bar tail lights. Nineties The Mustang received a new, even blander design resembling a sportier Escort. By the mid nineties, however, it would receive a new, more muscular design, reviving the classic pony badge and tri-bar tail lights. Initially horizontal, the lights would be made vertical shortly later. The Mustang continued its success in GT racing, but also formed the basis for an IMSA GT Prototype. A 25th anniversary edition was available. The Cougar became a Mustang again in this generation. Zeros The Mustang received an edgier design with crisper-looking tail lights. In 2005, a new retro look was introduced, based on the original Mustangs. The Cougar was discontinued in 2002, and was never revived. In the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, one team painted their Mustangs in tribute to those of the original Trans Am Mustangs driven by racing legends Parnelli Jones and George Follmer. Ford also revived the classic Boss 302 name for its five liter models. Tens For 2010, the Mustang retained its retro looks, but with an edgier, more polygonal style. NASCAR created cars designed to resemble the Mustang in favor of the Taurus for its support series. A special Laguna Seca edition was created, after the famous racetrack in Monterey, California. For 2015, the Mustang lost much of its retro-inspired look. The car has a swoopier design in favor of the boxy sedan of the previous generations. The circular headlamps are replaced with edgier, modern headlights. The louvered A-frame window is gone. A 50th anniversary edition is available. Film The movie Bullit features a Ford Mustang, and includes a breakthrough in car chase sequences in action films. Bullit Edition Mustangs have since been created. A Mustang named "Eleanor" was featured in the 1974 film Gone in Sixty Seconds. A remake was created in 2000. The Mustang featured in the remake is one of the most replicated cars of all time. Music The song Mustang Sally talks about a woman who drives a 1965 Mustang. Video Gaming Mustangs are popular in racing video games. All generations appear in racing video game series Forza Motorsport. Initially, the Boss 429 was included, with the developers ignorantly believing it to have dominated Trans Am. However, they eventually replaced it with the Boss 302, the actual Trans Am competitor. A first year Mustang is available with the possibility of a 4.9 liter engine. This version is the original sedan and not the more popular fastback, however. Forza 6 features an IMSA GTO Mustang as a part of its Ford Performance theme.Category:Ford Category:Trans Am Series Category:Grand Tourer Category:IMSA Category:NASCAR Category:Sports Car Club of America Category:Touring Car